Rep. Robert G. Barnwell (Pro-SC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Barnwell

Robert Gibbes Barnwell (December 21, 1761 – October 24, 1814) was a South Carolina revolutionary and statesman who was a delegate to the Confederation Congress and a United States Congressman.

Robert was born in Beaufort, South Carolina. His education was by a private tutor after he had exhausted the resources of the Beaufort common school. But he interrupted this and entered the revolutionary war at the age of 16 as a private in the militia. In the maneuvering after the Battle of Stono Ferry, his company was camped on Johns Island in late June of 1779. A British surprise attack at night cut them up badly in an action known as the Battle of Mathews' Plantation. The sixteen year old Barnwell was wounded so badly that they stripped his gear and left him for dead. He was found in the field by a slave and taken to his aunt (Mrs. Sarah Gibbes) on her nearby plantation. She and her daughter nursed him back to health.

Shortly before the battle at Stono Ferry on June 20, the Beaufort Militia under Captain Robert Barnwell (son of Colonel Nathaniel Barnwell) was attached to a larger local company commanded by Captain John Matthews, later to be governor of South Carolina. These local militia took up a forward post at Matthew’s own plantation on the Stono River to keep an eye on British movements. Barnwell and the Beaufort Militia took a position on Fenwick’s neighboring plantation, and the American officers accepted a dinner invitation from Fenwick believing him to be a friend. After learning the strength of the American force Fenwick went directly to the British commander. The British surrounded and captured Matthew’s company and demanded the surrender of Barnwell’s small command. When Barnwell was refused terms, he ordered his men to make a stand. Faced with determined opposition, a British sergeant in command then offered “honorable quarter,” whereupon Robert Barnwell and his men laid down their arms. Having disarmed the Americans, the British treacherously fell upon them with bayonets, killing or wounding almost every man in the militia. Captain Barnwell received seventeen wounds and was left for dead. He was found on the field the next day by his cousins, the Gibbes, who lived nearby. Barnwell was nursed back to health by Mary Anna Gibbes.

He returned to duty, rejoining the militia the next spring as a lieutenant. He was just in time to be included with the prisoners when General Benjamin Lincoln surrendered Charleston on May 12, 1780. He was imprisoned on the transport ship Pack Horse until his exchange in June 1781. He returned to militia service, and by the end of the war had risen to Lieutenant Colonel.

Back home in Beaufort, Barnwell was elected to the South Carolina house of representatives for 1787-1788. He was a delegate representing South Carolina in the Confederation Congress in 1788 and 1789. He was returned to the state house for terms in 1790-1791, and 1794-1801, and in 1795 he served as speaker of that house.

In the spring of 1788 Robert was a delegate to South Carolina convention that ratified the United States Constitution. He was elected to one term in the U.S. House (1791-1793) for an at-large seat, but declined to run again. Beginning in 1795 he was the chair of the board of trustees for the new Beaufort College, and held that position for many years. He was elected to the state senate for 1805-1806, and was President of that body in 1805.

He died in Beaufort and is buried there in the churchyard of the St. Helena Episcopal Church. His son, Robert Woodward Barnwell, was a Senator in both the United States Senate and the Confederate Senate.

On This Day In History December 21,1761: Patriot Robert Barnwell is born.

"Revolutionary War hero and faithful Patriot Robert Barnwell is born in Beaufort, South Carolina. Beaufort enthusiastically participated in each stage of his country’s revolutionary coming-of-age.

At age 16, Barnwell enlisted as a private in the Patriot militia. Wounded 17 times in the Battle of Matthews’ Plantation on St. John’s Island in June 1779, his supplies were taken and he was left for dead on the battlefield. Fortunately, a slave found him and took him to his aunt’s nearby plantation, where he recuperated. He rejoined the militia as a lieutenant the following spring, only to be taken prisoner by the British during the siege of Charleston in May 1780. Barnwell spent the next 13 months imprisoned on the ship Pack Horse. Still undeterred, he joined the militia after his release, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel by the end of the War of Independence.

Having served the new nation loyally during the war, Barnwell became a successful politician in the political revolution that followed. He was elected first to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1787, then served as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1788 to 1789. In 1788, he also served as a member of the South Carolina convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution. He sat in the second U.S. Congress as a member of the House of Representatives from 1791 to 1793, declining to run for a second term. He returned to the South Carolina legislature from 1795 to 1797, including a stint as speaker of the house in 1795. His public service also included time in the South Carolina Senate from 1805 to 1806, serving as president in the latter year, and as president of the Beaufort College Board of Trustees beginning in 1795. He died in his birthplace on October 24, 1814."